Our Running Costs Beat Economy 7 Storage Heaters

This is a unique 12-month case study looking at the total electrical usage (power, heat and light) in a 1960’s 2 bedroom detached bungalow with cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and double glazing. The property is situated in Holsworthy, Devon and it has no gas, solid-fuel or other kind of heating.

The Results

Over the course of twelve months the householder saved over 34% on heating costs, as well as reporting a warmer and more efficient heating system experience.

The outcome of this study shows the householder saved £199.55 per year, making German radiators a solid long-term investment option.

The system also reduced the householder’s carbon emission release by a total of 66%.

What is the running cost of your radiators?’ and ‘How do the running costs compare with other electric heaters?” UK customers regularly ask us this question.

The correct answer is that running costs depend on a number of factors: your electricity tariff, the thermostat temperature setting, how your heating system is used (on/off or continuous) and the heat loss of the rooms.

If the average current electricity cost per kwh is 13p (per unit), it means that a 1kw radiator would cost 13p per hour to run if it was working at full power for each hour.

The next bit is where it gets a bit tricky to calculate. If the radiator thermostat is set to 20 degrees Celsius, once the room reached 20 degrees Celsius the thermostat would turn the power off to the radiator. From this point onwards, the thermostat would ensure that the only heat emitted would be enough heat to counteract the heat loss of the room and therefore keep the room at a constant 20 degrees Celsius.

For example, if the room has a heat loss of 200 watts per hour, the 1kw radiator would only produce 200 watts of heat in that hour. That would mean that the radiator would only operate intermittently for a total of 12 minutes in each hour (20%), costing the average person 2.6p per hour to use their electric heaters based on UK tariff costs at 13p an hour.

If the same 1kw radiator was placed in a room that had less insulation, more outside walls, bigger windows and single glazing it would have to counteract a much bigger heat loss. It would have to emit more heat per hour to maintain a steady state temperature and it would therefore cost more to run. For example, if the room has a heat loss of 800 watts per hour, then the radiator would have to produce 800 watts of heat per hour to counteract the heat loss and maintain a steady state temperature, meaning the radiator would operate intermittently for 48 minutes in each hour. This would make an electric heater’s UK tariff of 13p per hour actually cost 10.4p.

It will always take more energy to heat a room to temperature than it will to maintain a room at a set temperature. Therefore on/off usage patterns will be more costly than maintaining a constant temperature or using ‘set back’ or ‘economy’ temperature settings rather than switching off completely when the room is not occupied.

In common with all heating systems, the thermostat setting affects the running cost, so rooms which are not occupied should be set to lower temperatures. According to the Carbon Trust, your heating cost will rise by 8% for every 1 degree the thermostat setting is increased above 19°C.

West Country Heating Radiators

Thermotec is one of the few European companies whose radiators have been truly analysed in respect of their performance. UK laboratory test results form an integral part of this process as every heating company must have British usage tests conducted on their radiators in order for them to make legitimate claims or calculations about UK running costs. Any other so called independent results or German Electric Radiator data is not sufficient.

In addition to the above, West Country Heating also has an industry leading wireless temperature control system that allows you to program each radiator individually so that you can set each room to the desired temperature at the required time. This means that you will only heat those rooms that need heating at the temperature that you want without wasting any energy.

Our German electric radiators use a special material called Chamotte. This material is a ceramic fire clay that heats up very quickly and retains heat in the radiators core. This process of continuously generating and conserving heat within the heater core means that the electricity drawdown is extremely low ensuring that your heating is both efficient and cost effective.

As soon as the power comes on the radiator element heats up and the Chamotte plates can reach their maximum temperature in just 5 minutes resulting in a warm room in less than half an hour. A more responsive heating system provides you with much more flexibility for rooms like bathrooms and bedrooms which only require heat for short periods. It will also enable you to turn up the heat on particularly cold days without having to plan ahead and because our electric radiators operate on demand you don’t have to rely on expensive backup heating.